Analytical Tools
Industrial Ecology utilizes a number of analytical tools to gain knowledge about environmental problems. Tools such as cost-benefit analysis, life-cycle costing, energy and exergy analysis, and eco-efficiency analysis are briefly covered in the introductory industrial ecology course taken by all program students during the first semester. Full semester courses are also available for all the tools listed below.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
LCA is the systematic analysis of product life cycles or functional chains which include all technical processes related to the given product or service. LCA’s main purpose is to compile and evaluate environmental impacts of a product through its life cycle. It is used to compare different options for fulfilling the same functional unit and identifying “hot spots” in a product’s life cycle. Environmental impacts can be quantified according to various impact categories such as Global Warming Potential (GWP), Human Toxicity Potential (HTP), and Acidification Potential (AP). Results can be presented to decision-makers or used for corporate reporting.
Input-Output Analysis (IOA)
IOA uses monetary and physical flows to calculate environmental impacts. Governments around the world publish yearly input output tables which map the flows of economic value between and within defined sectors of the economy. This data is the foundation for IOA and is used in combination with an environmental intervention intensity matrix (which defines the amount of physical goods required for each unit of economic value), an emission matrix (which defines the amount and types of emissions for each physical good) and an impact category matrix (which defines how emission types contribute to impact categories). IOA is particularly useful for understanding environmental problems at a national and international level, such as the “Carbon Footprint of Nations”.
Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
Bulk-MFAs focus on all goods and products that enter and exit an economy within a year; leaving all the detailed processes within the system out of the study. The goal is to generate a complete understanding of material use in an economic system. The results reveal the total use of resources by the system and can be combined with monetary macro-indicators (GDP) to measure eco-efficiency over time. SFAs focus on mapping the flow of an individual element or chemical inside a given system. Particular attention is paid to identifying all the relevant processes within the system. Once the total in and out flows are known, they can be translated into a set of linear relations that can be solved by matrix calculations. SFAs can reveal the sources specific environmental problems by tracing substances of interest back to their origins.
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